James howaed and edwaed tenney bousfield



RAILWAY SLEEPER AND CHAIR.

1, WWW M d Ma m mh m N. PETERS. Plmioljlhognphnr, Washingtnn, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ J HOWARD AND EDWARD TENN EY BOUSFIELD, OF BEDFORD, ENGLAND.

RAILWAY SLEEPER AND CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,015, dated December 22, 1885.

Application filed May 13, 1885. Serial No. 165,372. (No model.) Patented in England March 19, 1885, No. 3,528.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it' known that we, J AMES HOWARD and EDWARD TENNEY BOUSFIELD, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Bedford, England, engineers, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway Sleepers and Chairs, (for which we have obtained provisional protection in Great Britain, No. 3,528, bearing date March 19, 1885,) of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the acoompanying'drawings.

Our invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of railway or tramway sleepers of that class or kind in which each sleeper, with the chairs or seats for the rails, is constructed of one plate, strip, or sheet of metal; and the chief objects of the invention .are to increase the strength and durability of these parts of railways or tramways.

According to our present improvements we construct the transverse sleepers with the seats or receptacles, which serve as chairs for the rails upon it, from a plate or strip of metal which is arched shape in transverse section, the rail-receptacles being formed by depressing the metal of the plate, strip, or sheet.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section; and Fig. 2 is a plan of a sleeper having the chairs or receptacles formed thereon the full width of the body of the sleeper, and adapted to receive a double-headed rail. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a slightly-modified form of sleeper. Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on the lines 2 z and y y, Figs. 1 and 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate parts throughout the drawings.

a is the sleeper, which has the form of an arch in transverse section, as shown in Fig. 5, or may have any other section approximating to an inverted trough or channel shape.

The chairs 6 are formed by depressing, sinking, or flanging down the plate a in such a manner that the tops or upper surface of the the same jaws or checks 0 0 have the same or approxisupported in the most advantageous manner to insure the durability of the parts.

A further advantage resulting from so con structing the sleeper that the chairs or seatings are sunk below the top surface of the sleeper is that the cheeks c c of the said seatings afford security without additional cost against the endwise shifting of the sleeper upon the ballast or bed of the railway.

It will be seen that in the sleepers shown in the drawings the edges to are continued or extended under the bottoms of the seatings to form flanges d at the sides of the same. This is not absolutely necessary-that is to say, these edges may terminate at and merge into the sides of the seatings; but an important advantage is obtained by so constructing the sleeper that its edges are extended or continued to form flanges under the seating, as we thus obtain increased strength of this part of the sleeper.

In some cases it may be desirable that the bottoms of the chairs should be at or about the same level as the bottom of the intermediate part and ends of the sleeper. For this purpose the sleeper is shaped as shown in Fig. 3.

The rails e are secured in the chairs by the ordinary keys or wedges, f, as shown, or by other suitable means.

What we claim is- 1. A combined sleeper and chairs made from one plate, strip, or sheet of metal which is arch-shaped in transverse section,and in which the receptacles or chairs for the rails are formed by depressing, sinking, or flanging down the metal below the top or arched surface of the sleeper, substantially as described.

2. The continuation of the lower edges of the arch-shaped plate, strip, or sheet a below the rail-seats for the purpose of forming flanges d, for increasing the strength and rigidity of the sleeper, as above set forth.

3. Asleeper formed of a plate, strip, or sheet, a, of metal which is arch-shaped or partly circular in transverse section throughout its entire length, except where the gaps or depressions I) are formed to serve as seats or receptacles for the rails, substantially as setlforth.

4. The plate, strip, or sheet a of metal, which is arch-shaped in transverse section, and'which is made with the depressions b and flanges d, to

form rail seats or receptacles of the same width adjuncts, except the ordinary keys or wedges,

as the arch-shaped portion, and with sides substantially as set forth.

whose upper edges throughout their entire extent coincide and form a junction with the arch-shaped portions of the sleeper, substantially as set forth.

5. A sleeper consisting of a bar or plate arch-shaped or partly circular in transverse section, which has receptacles for the rails formed across it in the manner specified, and which will properly hold and support the rails without any stays, ties, bolts, rivets, or other In testimony whereof we have hereunto I 5 signed our names in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES HOWARIL. EDWARD TENN EY BOUSFIELD.

\Vitnesses:

J OHN DEAN, WALTER JAMES SKERTEN, Both of 17 Gmccchwch Street, London. 

